7 things to do at Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival with kids

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The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival is in full swing, and the park looks stunning! With gorgeous gardens, spectacular topiaries, food and drinks and so much more, there is something for the whole family to enjoy. If you’re planning to visit the Flower and Garden Festival with kids, then take a look through my list of things to do to keep the little ones entertained.

For more information on the other Epcot festivals, read through my posts on the Epcot Festival of the Arts, the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, and the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays. 

1. The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Topiaries

When you enter Epcot, pick up a festival passport. This has all of the information you will need to enjoy the festival, including menus for the food booths, garden locations, and a list of the incredible topiaries.

There are some amazing topiaries at this years festival with new additions: a dragon topiary in Japan and Remy in France. The detail that goes into the topiaries is incredible, and my kids can’t get enough of them!

We love walking around and finding our favorites, and if you’re visiting the festival on more than one occasion over its run, take a look at how the topiaries grow and change time.

2. The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Playgrounds

There are two playgrounds as part of the festival, and they are awesome. Does anyone else think Disney parks should have more playgrounds?! They are such an easy way to keep kids busy and entertained!

One of these is the playground that has been in Epcot for over a year now (although it only seems to be open seasonally); for the Flower and Garden Festival is it called the Bo Peep Playground. For the most part, it’s the same playground as it has previously been, just with a few new themed props, and it’s still a great playground that kids seemed to be having a blast in (I know mine were!)

The other playground is one that hasn’t been around for a while, but it’s back for this festival, and that is the playground over in the Showcase Plaza. This year it’s called the Play Full Garden, and is a little larger than the Bo Peep playground.

The playground is split into two main areas, one more for older kids and one definitely aimed at toddlers and younger children, and although the playground has more space than the other one, there is less for the kids to climb and play on. Having said that, if you’re at Epcot for the day then I would encourage you to try both playgrounds out since they both make great opportunities for kids to burn off some energy.

3. The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Scavenger Hunts

If you’ve visited Epcot during other festivals, you might be familiar with the scavenger hunts they have set up for kids over the last couple of years.

This year, the Flower and Garden Festival has two scavenger hunts: the Egg-stravaganza and Spikes Pollen Nation Exploration. They are essentially the same concept, where you can search for hidden clues (either eggs themed to Walt Disney World characters or flowers featuring Spike the honey bee), and record your findings by placing stickers on a map.

The maps are available for purchase from a variety of merchandise locations, and when the map is complete, it can be turned in to Disney Traders for a special surprise.

Harrison absolutely loved the similar Figment-themed hunt during the Festival of the Arts, and the surprise at the end was actually pretty cool. You don’t even need to complete the map accurately to the get the surprise, so no pressure on little kids to actually find every clue! This is a great way to keep kids occupied as you explore the festival.

4. The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Food and Drinks

Does anyone else just go to these Epcot festivals for the food?! I love that all of the Epcot festivals feature food booths now, especially since they are so well suited to the particular festival going on at the time.

This year, the Flower and Garden features food booths with an emphasis on fresh ingredients and spring flavors, and there are 16 food booths in total including a new booth, Magnolia Terrace. Many of the options are kid-friendly, especially the delicious desserts, and the alcoholic frozen drinks all come in non-alcoholic varieties.

There is actually a guide in the festival passport that highlights some of the more kid-friendly options, as well as highlighting the plant based and gluten free items.

Some of our favorites included the Frushi from Hanami in Japan, the Grilled Street Corn on the Cob from Trowel and Trellis, and the Blackened Shrimp and Cheddar Cheese Grits from Florida Fresh.

5. The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Merchandise

This year’s merchandise is absolutely adorable! There are the usual t-shirts, mugs, and tumblers available, as well as some more unique garden-themed merchandise and products.

The print on the tumblers and Christmas ornaments is so cute, and I love the spirit jerseys. There was some super cute kids merchandise too, including t-shirts and gardening equipment aimed at smaller budding gardeners.

6. The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Goodness Garden Butterfly House

This is one of our favorite spots year after year. The butterfly garden is located in Future World, and houses a number of species of butterfly.

The garden is enclosed, with mesh chains covering the entrance and exits so the butterflies can’t escape. The butterflies really do fly everywhere, we even saw them land on a few people!

There is an interactive display for kids with more information on butterflies, and Harrison loved seeing them up close. We talked about how butterflies grow from caterpillars, and there were Cast Members on hand to answer any questions we had.

7. The flowers and the gardens!

Despite some of the other features of the festival stealing focus a little, flowers are still the main attraction here. The flowers really do look beautiful in the Florida sun, and I love that there is such a focus on educating people about gardening, and what they can do on their own.

There are numerous interactive exhibits, Cast Members on hand to answer questions, and ways for your kids to get involved in learning more about nature.

For more information, visit the festival’s official website.

Are you planning to visit the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival this year?